Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.

Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.

A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.

The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.

US authorities are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.

The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.